Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Has the Longest Non-Avengers Runtime Based on Theater Listing

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the longest Phase 4 movie… by far.

According to a new listing at Cineplex, the upcoming Marvel movie clocks in at 2 hours 41 minutes – that makes it the longest Phase 4 movie as well as the longest non-Avengers film in the whole MCU.

The record is currently held by Eternals which comes in at 2 hours and 36 minutes… but the Black Panther sequel beats it by a full five minutes.

Although Marvel is yet to confirm the official runtime, it does make sense.

For one thing, the death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman leaves a lot to clear up in the film’s opening act… and with plenty of new story in the recent Wakanda Forever teaser trailer, it looks like there’s plenty of justification for a pretty hefty runtime.

“It just felt like it was much too soon to recast,” said Marvel boss, Kevin Feige. “Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our characters and stories are, there’s a relatable and human element to everything we do. The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And Ryan [Coogler] poured that into the story.”

Director Ryan Coogler has revealed that Wakanda Forever will tackle the passing of the original Black Panther and the theme of moving on in the face of insurmountable odds.

“The conversations were entirely about, yes, ‘What do we do next?’” Feige said. “And how could the legacy of Chadwick – and what he had done to help Wakanda and the Black Panther become these incredible, aspirational, iconic ideas – continue? That’s what it was all about.”

These are obviously big questions, that won’t be wrapped up with a limited runtime. Not to mention the fact that Wakanda Forever won’t have one lead character.

Instead, the film will focus on a larger cast, including Letitia Wright's Shuri, Angela Bassett's Queen Ramonda, Winston Duke's M'Baku, and Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to debut on November 11, 2022.

Want to read more about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? Check out the major Namor theory that’s been confirmed, as well as how the original pitch made it through to the final film.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.